Infinite Stratos: Limited Terra
by Hydriatus
Summary: Numerous cores were shipped out to various nations to prevent one dominating another. But what of those who never received cores? How are they meant to defend themselves in this age of restrained devastation? Slight AU, OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, here's my first Infinite Stratos fic, and my first fanfic in a LONG time. Still, here's hoping it entertains you all somewhat! **

**I do not own Infinite Stratos, obviously. Also, the slightly AU setting is curtesy of EthernalRain. **

**Crticism and reviews much appreciated!**

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Permission to Attend<span>

"_The development of Infinite Stratos changed the world. The White Knight incident proved the machine's superiority over all conventional weapons. In a single strike, Japan became immune to any attack, protected by the technology of Tabane Shinonono. Foreign relations became strained, as with such a weapon, Japan could potentially dominate the Earth. Yet as an act of peace, all the major nations of the world received a selection of IS cores, wondrous devices that not only acted as the generator for the lithe machines, but also as their piloting computers. _

_And all of them shared a single feature which to this day has not been explained – they only permitted women to utilize the IS. Whether this was intended as a limitation or an insult to the predominantly male armies of the world, it is impossible to tell. What is known however is that whatever the intention, this limitation did not prevent the IS from being deployed as a weapon of war during the First and Second Conflicts, culminating in the Alaska Treaty."_

**Joseph West, lecturer at Oxford University, UK.**

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><p>It was a quiet night at the IS Academy. Which was a rare occurrence these days. Ever since Ichika Orimura transferred in, the concept of peace had gone out the window. Indeed, he know had the loyalty of five personal IS users, more than enough to start and win a small war. And all this in addition to him owning a fourth generation IS. Maybe it was karma then that he was so clueless. With a word he could level an entire country, but he never would. He was too much of a nice guy. Good news for the world. And yet he constantly found himself in such situations. Looking up awkwardly at the cold glares of Houki, Ceilia, and Lingyin, with a half-nude Charlotte on top of him. No amount of explaining was going to get him out of this one. Not that he wouldn't try of course. "Um, well you see..."<p>

"Hehehe...Ichika you damn pervert," said Lingyin coldly, the Dragon's Cannon already forming behind her as she manifested her IS to give the boy a taste of what a woman scorned could do. Next to her, Cecilia was glowing red from embarrassment and anger, her Blue Tears also forming and powering up. Houki was silent as always, but her grip on her wooden katana was shaking slightly. In that moment, Ichikia knew he was doomed.

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><p>It was a quiet night at the IS Academy. Which was surely a calm before the storm. As if on cue, a section of the dorms exploded outwards, scattering tiny slivers of debris in all directions. Out of the haze fell the Byakushiki, chased by the Shenlong and Blue Tears. Sitting in her office, having a clear view of the commotion, Chifuyu Orimura sighed as she pressed a small button on her desk, one she had recently installed just in case of such situations. Already a teacher in a training IS would be deploying from the staff headquarters and head off to resolve the commotion. Having so many personal IS users in one place was troublesome enough, but throw in the mix of feelings they were all going through and it was a miracle there had been no lasting damage to the Academy yet.<p>

She turned her attention back to the folder she had been leafing through. Information regarding someone or other who wished access to the Academy. It was not unusual – being technically an independent state made the IS Academy a place that sparked much interest, in governments, research institutes and the media. Of course, the various IS' used here also attracted attention, but in the end only those with very good reasons to be at the Academy ever made it onto the grounds, most often only to the Arena to watch the students perform and scout them out for their various employers. With the Alasaka Treaty, the Academy was also responsible for ensuring no IS technology or pilot was taken by any group which was deemed unsuitable. But with the fall of VEIL and the enforcement of the Treaty by STASIS and FRACTURE, such groups were rare.

The teacher sighed once more as she looked over the file again. Not another transfer student luckily. This year was rapidly turning into havoc, with not only the enrollment of the first ever male student, but no less than three representative students, and the possible inheritor of a major corporation. No, this was something much more understandable. An engineer from Eastern Europe, Piotr Koval. A name that meant smith in his native tongue apparently. Fitting, Chifuyu supposed. The man had sent a letter of request, asking permission to come to the IS Academy to study the various machines and the manner in which they interacted (read: fought) with each other. It was a fairly typical request, and one he was well within his rights to apply for. As part of the agreement that continued the IS Academy to exist was the sharing of knowledge. Of course that knowledge was carefully monitored and the people chosen to receive had to have at least three recommendations from other trusted people and organizations.

Still few such requests were granted. After all the Academy was still a school, and nothing could be allowed to disrupt the students' learning. But Koval had the necessary recommendations, and a convincing argument to back up why his request should be chosen. Hailing from Poland, one of the countries which did not receive an IS core to experiment on, having as much information on the machines was clearly a high priority. Several Eastern European countries, as well as many African nations did not receive an IS core, lacking the infrastructure or funding to fully utilize the gift. This led to several imbalances in world power, resulting in the First and Second Conflicts. Of course, all countries without their own IS forces were now allied with those that did, though that often meant that the nation with the advanced technology could essentially demand whatever they wished from those they were protecting.

Chifuyu threw down the folder belonging to Koval and glanced at the several other dossiers resting on her desk. Each one was related to a member of the engineers retinue. Each one had a flawless record, and the request had clearly outlined the measures Koval and his people were willing to go to in order to come here. In the end, no one in the Academy had seen an issue with letting him come onto the campus, and appropriating one of the hangers that was currently disused. Ten different teachers were required to give their approval though, and she had been chosen as one of the ten. She rolled her shoulders and quickly skimmed through all the dossiers one more time, making sure she hadn't missed anything.

_Piotr Koval, Polish engineer. Hardly spectacular though favored by the government._

_Sasha Beloi, a Russian IS pilot. _It appeared as if she would come along with a second generation mass produced IS, and would not enroll as a student. Thank god. No more transfer students.

_Luke Mason, British soldier. Apparently fought during the clash against VEIL alongside STASIS forces. Cross-reference information with Kyuukai Tokiwa._

_Henry Mason, British programmer. Brother to Luke. Worked as a software programmer before being hired by Piotr. _

_Oleg Zoktavir, Lithuanian engineer. Assigned as an aide, representative of the Lithuanian armed forces. _

_Orsus Strakhov, Russian soldier. Assigned as protection and a representative of the Russian Federation armed forces. _

_Gregor Harkevich, Russian soldier. Veteran of First and Second Conflict. _

A predominantly Eastern European team with two specialists. And an IS test pilot. Of course there were other technicians but it was these few that caught her attention. They could be trouble, but so far they had done nothing suspicious. The teacher rubbed her temple and glanced outside. The Blue Tears and Shenlong were having a standoff with a teacher piloted IS, whilst the Byakushiki hovered behind it. One less crisis to worry about.

Well, the Academy had learned how to deal with the unexpected since Ichika had enrolled, Chifuyu thought with a smile, before organizing the papers in front of her into a small stack. She signed the form that had come with the folders and placed it on top. Satisfied with the evenings work, she stood up and stretched before heading for the door, pausing only long enough to switch off the lights. Darkness fell on the room, with only a single beam of moonlight falling onto what she had written on the form.

_Request Approved. _

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><p>The wind of Chernobyl still had that curious tingling taste. Even after all these years the radiation had not faded away. Not that the local wildlife cared. There was something eerie about the vegetation and animals wandering the abandoned town, It was a place that had not been touched by man for years, a place where nature had begun to reclaim what was once it's. And in one of the crumbling buildings was Koval's workshop.<p>

A nice, quiet and abandoned place which no one wanted. It was perfect. He could run tests without fear of civilians blundering onto the territory, or exposure to the media. His current project was nowhere near ready for the public eye, which is why he lived in this wild wasteland. Beneath one of the garages, he had set up his engineering workshop with the aid of the Russian government. His current project was a joint operation between all the countries of Eastern Europe, something to challenge the technological dominance of Western Europe.

Koval tilted his head to one side until he felt his neck crack. He'd been awake for too long. But the latest data from the Maiden needed to be processed as quickly as possible. There was no delaying the march of progress. Seeker sat on the opposite end of the machine, his laptop hooked up to the IS core. The youth's hands danced over the keys, inputting various commands and calculations to correlate with the data being downloaded from Sasha's suit. The girl herself was still asleep, tired from the various exercises she had to do the day before. Luke was probably keeping an eye on her, and Koval had no idea where Zoktavir, Strakhov and Harkevich had gotten to. The less he knew about Zoktavir's doings, the better, and Strakhov was most likely in the chemical lab. Harkevich...well, he would be either asleep or tinkering like always.

Suppressing a yawn, Koval focused his attention on the screen in front of him, listing endless figures. Complete and utter gibberish to those who had no idea what they were looking at, but he didn't even see the code anymore, just the results he wanted.

"Koval."

He blinked and jerked slightly in response to Seeker's voice before composing himself and peering over the top of his wire rimmed glasses. "Yes, what is it?"

Without looking up from his work, Seeker replied. "We just got confirmation that your request was approved."

"Which one?" responded Koval, turning back to his work. He had mailed out a lot of requests, for more men, supplies, access to restricted data, as well as take-aways and even a repairman for whenever Sasha's TV would break down. It seemed funny to need a repairman when they were all qualified engineers, but knowledge of IS and weaponry did not let one repair a HD television without turning it into some kind of explosive.

"The IS Academy," came the cold response. Koval blinked in surprise, taken aback at how little Seeker cared that he would be going along to one of the most prestigious places of learning in the whole world, where elite IS pilots were crafted, where numerous representatives gathered, and where the first male IS pilot had been sent. Then again Seeker was gifted with a mind that existed in the present, allowing him to devote himself to the current task with no thought of causes nor consequences. The Polish engineer shook his head and ran a hand through his brown hair as he leaned back in his chair.

"Well that is good news. Once we have the data from the Maiden, pass the word to the rest and prep our gear for travel," he said, spinning in his swivel chair several times as his computer shut down. "I'm going to rest for a bit so wake me once everything's ready to go, and don't forget to rest yourself sometime."

"Understood," replied Seeker, not looking up from his work. Koval suppressed another sigh as he stood up and left the hangar, heading for his small room at the end of the corridor. It wouldn't hurt him to at least show some emotion from time to time. As he traveled down the dark corridor he could just make out the form of Harkevich, leaning against the wall, eyes closed. Whether he was lost in thought or asleep was beyond Koval's ability to ascertain, so he just passed him by quietly.

"Nice try," grumbled the burly Russian. Peeking at the Pole from beneath the brim of his black cap. His face was shrouded in shadow and the great black beard he bore, leaving only his twinkling green eyes visible. "Finally decided to call it a night?"

Koval nodded, yawning for emphasis. "Yes. Also we got confirmation. We'll be transferring over to the IS Academy in Japan as soon as possible," he explained without stopping, keeping his voice just barely above a whisper to ensure the other man heard him clearly. "So if you aren't going to sleep, start packing."

Harkevich just nodded silently before slipping away into the dark, leaving Koval alone to enter his room and flop down onto the bed, falling asleep instantly.

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><p>Ichika sat on the bed in the infirmary, crestfallen. Next to him sat Charlotte, not quite able to keep a small smile off her face as she glanced at the bruised and battered boy. She couldn't help it. The youth had in a burst of gallantry carried her away from the rest of the vengeful girls in a bridal carry. Which was probably a good thing, since the amount of destruction the trio had unleashed had obliterated their room. And so they were now spending the night in the infirmary whilst the staff urgently tried to organize a replacement room for them. Or more likely, contract some workers to immediately repair the current wreck. With the larger amount of power being directed towards the window, the room could easily be fixed up if they rebuilt the wall, added some new wiring and piping, and just worked tirelessly for several hours. Which the IS Academy could afford. Well, the three girls could afford, since they were being charged for the damages. Personal IS user or no, when damaging Academy property they were still as readily accountable as anyone else.<p>

Though Charlotte hoped Houki wouldn't be made to pay the fine, since she didn't really cause that much damage. Not after what the Blue Tears and Shenlong did anyway. She couldn't help but laugh slightly at the memory of the girls being apprehended, and their shame for their actions being rapidly replaced with outrage when they realised they were going to be held responsible. Of course Ichika had gotten some words of warning from one of the instructors, but they were wasted on the clueless youth. He just sat there, cradling his head in his hands. The French girl couldn't help but hug him, much to his surprise, considering the yelp he emitted when she pulled herself against him.

"W-w-what?" asked Ichika, faintly red at the intimate contact, looking down where Charlotte rested her head against his shoulder, smiling. She stayed like that for a moment before replying, her eyes closed and still smiling like a kitten, content. "C-Char?"

"Thank you," she replied, before turning her head so she could look up at his face. Her smiling face filled Ichika's vision and he instinctively leaned his head back to put as much distance between his and hers. The boy looked away from her soft features and stared fixedly at the opposite wall.

"For what?"

Her smile turned slightly more playful as she noted his reaction, quickly pulling on his arm enough to yank his face down to her level to plant a quick kiss on his cheek, making Ichika turn completely red switch his attention from the wall to the girl. "For being my knight," Charlotte answered with a laugh. "Carrying me away like that in your arms..."

Words seemed to fail Ichika for a moment, his mouth hanging open. Then he seemed to remember himself and snapped it shut, turning away from Charlotte. "Um, well yeah, things happened so fast, I guess I forgot you're capable of looking after yourself..." She was after all a much more experienced IS user, worthy of being a representative pilot for France, and though unable to use the same defenses as the Schwarze Regen, her abilities would surely have put her out of harms way much more effectively than his own attempts.

"Still, it was nice of you to do so," Charlotte countered, hugging him again. "So thank you."

"C-Char..! T-they're rubbing against me..."

"Ichika, you pervert."

"H-hey!"

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><p><strong>Next time! Tedium! Lessons! Lunch on the roof! Guest speakers! Tune in for Chapter 2: Student Life!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow, thank you all for your comments! Here's Chapter 2...(you know, we never did get to see much of the Academy or it's staff/residents did we?)**

**Infinite Stratos is the property of Izuru Yumizuru.**

**Kyuukai Tokiwa is property of EthernalRain.**

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><p><span>Chapter 2: Student Life<span>

"_Orimura Ichika? Ah, that guy who can pilot an IS? Well, not much I can say about him really. I mean, what does anyone know about him apart from that one fact? I suppose I could comment on him attending that all-girl Academy..."_

"_Darling..."_

"_Errr, no, no comment on that!" _

**A random couple being interviewed for Asa Made Ni TV.**

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><p>The brilliant morning sun glowed in the sky. It was a clear and picturesque day, with not a single cloud in the sky. Light streamed in through the open curtains, whilst a warm and gentle wind blew into the room. Ichika blinked as he felt the air brushing past his face. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and withholding a yawn as he took a moment to orient himself. This certainly wasn't his room. The walls were white, and there seemed to be a lot more space...<p>

He heard Char yawn to his left and his memory swiftly crashed down on his groggy mind. The youth winced as all of the previous evening's events replayed themselves in his mind. Ichika shook his head and pulled himself out of the infirmary bed. It was too comfortable and welcoming to stay in. Evil, that's what it was. It made him want to lie in all day and not bother attending classes. Of course the consequences of that particular action were not worth any amount of comfort, no matter how long it lasted. Just then Char sat up as well, sleepily rubbing her own eyes, making sure to tuck her hair away to stop it obscuring her vision. She squinted at the open window, before remembering the previous night as well, clearly evidenced by how the drowsiness fled her.

The blonde girl glanced about momentarily before noticing Ichika and flashing him a brilliant smile. "Morning, Ichika!" she said cheerily, before moving to get out of her bed as well. "Slept well?" she asked, looking around for her clothing. Luckily, the Academy had provided them with spare uniforms, what with their original ones having been incinerated by the Dragon Cannon. The french girl seemed to pause as she noticed her clothing. "Um, do you think they have a shower here?" she asked her companion, looking around for said facility.

Ichika shook his head. "I doubt it. You can wash up in the bathroom I'm sure, but I don't think that they'll have a shower," he replied honestly. Then again, maybe they did. This was the IS Academy after all, so regular assumptions were often proven false. "Anyway, you can go first."

Char nodded her thanks as she picked up her uniform and made her way to the small door just to the left of the open window, conveniently labeled as the bathroom. The way her shoulders seemed to sag slightly as she entered confirmed Ichika's suspicions in regards to the lack of a shower, but the girl went in regardless, and soon he could just make out the sound of running water. The boy just sat on the bed, waiting. Char could take a while to get ready, but he was used to waiting. Besides, they had never been late for classes before, and he seriously doubted they would be today, even with such a good excuse as having their room demolished the night before.

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><p>When the day dawned on the dormitories of the IS Academy, the news of the utter annihilation of Ichika Orimura's room was on everyone's lips. The smoldering ruin of the room had sparked a panic throughout the building, with whispers of terrorist activity and other nefarious schemes, before the truth quickly spread. Ichika's harem was the cause of it all. The reactions to this little tidbit of information were varied. Most accepted the shenanigans of the girls and had faith in the teachers' abilities to reprimand and punish them. Others were outraged at this wanton act of destruction, undoubtedly fueled by the representative pilots' arrogance. And a select few agreed with the punishment due to Ichika for his womanizing ways, intentional or not.<p>

But for the workers of Makoto Izashima, all it meant was a paycheck. Lounging outside, waiting for the dorms to empty, an elite team compromised of a builder, a plumber, and an electrician sat in the back of a pickup truck, idly eating a hastily packed breakfast. They were the ones the Academy called for whenever a student messed up whilst piloting an IS. They were the ones the Academy called for whenever Orimura-sensei's coffee machine broke down. They were the ones the Academy tolerated for their skill.

Based on campus, the Maintenance Four, as they were known as amongst the faculty, were men who continued the work of their fathers in an increasingly female world. Not that they held any partifucal views on the matter either way. They had secure jobs and a relatively comfortable life. Sitting in the drivers seat, slumped against the wheel and almost dozing off, was Makoto Izashima himself, a jack of all trades when it came to such work as the Academy required of him and his team. He'd been called out first thing this morning, on an urgent call. Ever since that brat had transferred in, he'd been getting more and more of such calls lately. To think that he'd worked here for three years, and had a total of twelve emergency incidents. Then this boy appears, and in the space of a month, causes no less that TWENTY. Makoto banged his head against the wheel to keep the drowsiness at bay.

Sitting in the back of the truck, having a clear view of their boss' antics through the rear window, Vincent, Keitaro, and Hiruma shook their heads and sighed in unison. Their boss was hardly the inspiring leader one looked for in a superior, but he was a good sort at heart. Vincent turned his attention to the gaping hole some three storeys above them, covered with warning tape. It looked like a crime scene, and he was expected to rebuild the missing wall. He shook his head again and raised a bottle of Sake to his lips, savoring the taste of the liquid. Sure it was early in the day to be drinking, but it was a healthier alternative to Keitaro's morning beverage. A small mound of empty energy drink cans was clear enough evidence of where the young plumber got his energy. Vincet was quietly impressed the man hadn't died from a caffeine overdose yet, though he did have a slightly eerie twitch in his left eye.

"So, when do we start?" asked the ever-impatient Keitaro. Vincent smirked slightly as Hiruma's shoulders slumped. He'd already answered this question six times in the past half hour.

"Once the building is clear. We've been over this," groaned the brown haired electrician, his hairstyle permanently styled into a mohawk. "Every day, the place empties from nine to twelve as the girls go to their lessons," he explained, glaring at the floor of the truck through his sunglasses. He spoke again as Keitaro opened his mouth. "In that time, we go in, assess the damage and work required, and call in the necessary materials and people. That's what we always do." Keitaro closed his mouth, looking slightly sullen before producing another can of energy drink from somewhere and cracking it open.

Another loud thud signified Makoto's latest steering wheel headbutt. Vincent tapped on the window separating him from the trio. "Hey boss, you keep doing that and you won't be able to work." The cold glare of Makoto answered him, making him rapidly back off. "B-but hey, whatever works for you right?" he replied nervously as the man's eyes moved away from him and back to staring at the dashboard. Vincent sighed and looked to the entrance to the dormitories. Students were already leaving in twos and threes.

"You're here early."

"GAH!" exclaimed the trio, leaping in unison. Kyuukai Tokiwa grinned at them as they turned to face him with dark looks. Next to him, Laura Bodewig had put on her stoic mask, one she reserved for the rest of the world.

He raised up his hands to calm the three as he spoke, clearly holding back laughter. "Easy now. Just saying hi," he managed to make out before the Maintenance men were in his face, tilting the pickup dangerously to one side.

"What the hell? Don't get too cocky you little brat!" shouted Hiruma, before suddenly dropping out of sight as Vincent and Keitaro piled on top of him to add their own voices to the conversation.

"Reaper or no, you cannot harass civilians like this!" exclaimed Vincent, holding down the growling Hiruma's head whilst next to him Keitaro nodded. "Without us what would you fight for? Who would clean up after you!"

Kyuukai laughed as he backed away, back towards Laura. The German girl just looked expressionlessly as he returned to her side, turning to face her as he stopped laughing at the antics of the Maintenance Crew. "Shall we go?" he asked her with a soft smile, one that seemed somehow out of place on his hardened features. She nodded once and the pair walked away from the pickup, heading towards the Academy.

"Hey! Don't just ignore us!" shouted Hiruma as he finally threw Vincent and Keitaro off himself.

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><p>"Come on Ichika! We're going to be late!" shouted Charlotte as she skipped down the stairs, followed closely by the male IS pilot. He seemed to loose his balance several times as the pair raced down towards the building's exit. The infirmary was closer to the classrooms than the dormitories, but they would still need to hurry to avoid being late to homeroom and angering Orimura-sensei.<p>

"I thought you said we wouldn't be!" exclaimed Ichika as he rushed after her, hopping precariously between flights of stairs. It was interesting morning exercise to be sure, but he was unable to grasp the finer points of this morning as he chased Char through the double doors and into the sunlight. He stopped and blinked, having lost sight of his roommate before he felt her pat him on the back. Ichika spun around and reflexively took a step back as Char looked up at him brightly. "W-what?"

The girl walked past him before replying. "Nothing. Now come on."

Ichika just stood there for a moment, dumbfounded before shaking it off and jogging to catch up with her. He slowed to match her pace as he drew alongside her, and looked up at the sky. Clear. Not much of a wind either. Today's IS practice would be relatively easy. Flying an IS was hard enough, but doing so with winds buffeting you one way then another? Ichika sighed as he remembered the last time he had tried, managing somehow to do cartwheels in the air much to the amusement of the girls watching. And that had been one of his finer moments.

"Ichika!"

The boy blinked and looked up, seeing...well, he no longer knew what to call the group of girls running towards him. Pain was the word that immediately came to mind. Unreasonable was another. Friends was probably most accurate though. He smiled as the three females ran over to him, taking a moment to compose themselves. Well tow of them did at least. Houki just huffed and refused to meet his gaze. He had no idea what her problem was, but then again, the girls were acting weirder and weirder everyday.

He nodded at the three of them. Lingyin seemed somewhat embarrassed, hesitating before speaking. Which gave Cecilia enough time to jump in and prevent the Chinese representative from getting ahead of her in the rankings for Ichika's affections. Not that he knew of course.

"Ichika-san! I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the destruction of your room," said the English blonde politely, head held high. Her uniform was neat as always, and she seemed to be keeping her eyes closed not out of any attempt at being humble, rather to avoid meeting the boy's gaze. "I'm sorry!" she said, bowing low. Ichika stared, not quite sure how to react as Linyin stepped up, the annoyance on her face at being beaten to the apology by Cecilia quickly giving way to an innocent flush of embarrassment.

"Um, yeah me too. Sorry about that...er, I hope none of your stuff was damaged!" she managed to say, her eyes being unable to settle on Ichika, instead roaming around, looking at everything else.

The boy sighed at her apology. "Actually everything was incinerated. You're lucky I didn't have much in the way of personal possessions." That was true, a lot of his belongings were still at home, since he did not really need them on campus. Still, most of his clothes were now gone. Sure they were easy to replace, it was more of a nuisance than anything else, and all things considered, worse things might have happened to him than the loss of a few clothes. "Still, shouldn't you apologize to Char as well?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head. The girls in front of him seemed taken aback for a split second, seemingly noticing the blonde standing beside him for the first time. More than one black look was exchanged, and the sudden darkening of the area made Ichika shiver for some reason. Then the moment passed and all was well again.

"O-of course! My apologies Charlotte-san!" smiled Cecilia, bowing again, though nowhere near as low as when she bowed for Ichika. Next to her, Lingyin nodded along, bowing just as low. Charlotte displayed a warm and forgiving smile, though all the girls could feel the strained atmosphere between the three. It wouldn't last. Their nakama was stronger than that. It was one of the reasons the Academy was already drawing up emergency protocols for when the group graduated. Ichika Orimura had their absolute loyalty, and many male members of staff (none amongst the teachers, pretty much exclusively technical support staff and maintenance) mused that if he could outgrow his clueless nature, there was no reason why Ichika couldn't have their continued loyalty outside of the Academy, making the girls set aside their squabbles...

It was usually around this time that Chifuyu would appear in the area, killing off any further chat.

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><p>The whirling of blades reverberated in the large metal cabin. Strapped into one of the few seats available, Koval sighed as he continued attempting to work on his laptop. Attempting being the key word. The constant shifting and shaking of the craft did nothing to aid his efforts, though opposite him, Seeker seemed to be doing just fine, his hands dancing away on the keyboard as if he was a pianist and not a programmer. Kovel closed his eyes as his vision swam, turning his head away from the computer screen and fising his attention on his left. A wall of crates and boxes filled his vision, keeping all his equipment safe. Each one was strapped down and fastened to the floor of the helicopter, though now and again the entire mountain would pitch forward dangerously, towering over the engineer.<p>

He blinked, swallowed, and turned his attention to his right. The slumbering forms of Zoktavir and Strakhov were visible in the twilight, whilst he could just make out Harkevich and Luke opposite to them, discussing something in low, hushed tones. The engineer knew how much the two enjoyed their conversations, swapping outragous stories of battles and survival. Barely any were true, he was sure. Koval looked away, craning his neck around to try see out the small window set into the side of the transport. He could just see the sky, though from the feeling of the air pressure they were beginning their descent. Thank god. The journey had been a welcome chance to catch some more sleep, though it was far from comfortable. His entire crew and operation had been packed and airlifted four hours after receiving the confirmation from the Academy.

Koval wasn't overeager to make the move, he just wanted to be efficient. The ten hour journey across much of Russia by aircraft had been incredibly boring, though no one complained, each member of the engineer's team finding ways to amuse themselves. Of course his biggest worry had been Sasha, but the girl had proven herself mature enough to follow orders and not get too caught up in her freedom. He saw a flash of olive green and smiled as he saw the Maiden flying by the helicopter, slowing down so as to not leave it behind. For most of the journey she had been flying circles around the transport, flitting this way and that, getting used to the changing weather conditions in her machine.

Probably squealing in delight too. She never seemed to run out of energy. An inquisitive mind, one that Koval respected. Whilst his own country had no IS pilots at all, and no one really bothered checking for IS compatibility since the government would never be able to outfit any pilots anyway, Russia had embraced the new technology from Japan, and applied to it the same principles that had served it so well over the years.

"Prep for landing," buzzed the pilot's voice over the intercom. Koval sighed thankfully. It was about time they reached the end of this journey.

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><p><strong>Next time! Lunch on the roof! A new challenger appears! Tune in for Chapter 3: School of Hard Knocks!<strong>


End file.
